Save me from the darkness
by kiss-me-898
Summary: My first fanfic. Events after angel of darkness, someone returns to lara unexpectedly only to find trouble from the past. Problems bring lara to Jerusalem in search of the Talisman of raios, only to encounter karel. please review!
1. Painful Memories

**Chapter 1 Painful memories **

Lost in her painful memories, Lara gazed out into the enchanting gardens of Croft manor. She recalled how desperate and alone she felt in Egypt, left to die by her one time mentor, the only person she trusted. No matter how hard she tried, the ones she loved were always the ones that paid, her thoughts then transferred to Kurtis. He was nothing but another painful memory to her now. It had been 3 months since she had last seen his handsome face, the only thing to remember him by was his Chirugai. She was brought back into reality by the calls of Winston, her devoted butler.

"Lara, Lara? Ah! there you are, I have served dinner, if you feel up to it that is." He called peering around the corner of the dark library. Lara had been so lost in darkness lately, he had no idea what had come over her, she used to be so vivid and alive.

"Yeah, hang on a second." She placed her book on the table in the centre of the room and wandered off in to the noble dinning room, her mind absent from her body.

The great drawing room looked empty, nothing but a large table set out for two people.

" I'm awfully grateful for all that you do for me Winston, you do know that don't you."

" Of course Lara, here sit, I've got a lovely dinner prepared." He responded pulling out a chair at the end of the grand table.

Lara took a seat and continued to stare down the room, once again lost in her own thoughts.

" Here we go, as you used to like it when you were just a little girl." Winston placed the grilled fish down in front of Lara. The smell seemed to get her attention back to what her butler was telling her.

"Huh, yeah, thanks." Nodding her head in appreciation.

"Lara what's up? Ever since you've come back from Prague you seem to be very…distant."

"I'd prefer if we didn't have to talk about it." She replied dismissing the conversation.

"Okay. But if you ever want to talk, you know that you can always talk to me?"

" Yes I know. I'm sorry, I just don't feel like eating at the moment, I'm going to have a swim, I'll see you in the morning." She left the room and headed towards the pool.

After changing into her swimming costume, she sat on the edge of the pool, her eyes tracing the glistening droplets of water falling from her petite feet as they moved in the water. She sighed. Slowly lowering herself into the cold water, she let out a gasp as her body adjusted to the temperature. The water relaxed her body, she paddled around on the surface. She thought of finding the pool of blood in the middle of the Strahov. A delicate tear fell down her cheek. She shook her head wondering what had happened to her. She had only known the man for a few days.

"How come I can't get the bastard out of my head?" she screamed. She had never acted like this before. Wiping her cheek she dived down to the base of the pool. Getting her anger out; she kicked her legs as hard as possible, this seemed to calm her somewhat. After a few minuets she surfaced, taking a deep breath. She tried so hard to tell herself that he was gone, he still lingered in her mind. Paddling to the edge of the pool she closed her eyes and reminded herself of the first time they met.

_Flashback_

She felt the cold metal against her neck, the man behind her came closer and a rough hand began the slowly slide down the side of her body. His hand rested slightly on her hip before removing her gun from her holster and dropping it on the cold floor. The hand once returned to her, moving slowly along her slender stomach and again removing her other gun. She gnawed at her lip. She tried to turn and face the man but he pushed the gun harder against her neck, whilst slowly removing the painting from her backpack. He moved the gun to below her jaw. She swung herself around forcefully and locked eyes with him. They stared deeply into each other's eyes, their heads moved towards each other as if they were going to kiss. Just before they were touching he pressed the gun hard against her chest and slowly turned to walk away. She was overwhelmed by his effect on her. She acted so weak, so unlike her.

_End of flashback_

She shook her head to get the thought of him out of her head. His presence still remained in her mind. Time would not erase her memory of him. Again she dived down to the base of the pool trying to drown her thoughts. When she reached the surface, she heard a forceful bang come from outside on her assault course. The noise made her jump and pull herself up from the water. Placing a soft towel around her she grabbed her pistols and began to move towards the window where she heard the bang escape from.


	2. Vuelta

**Chapter 2 Vuelta **

Lara edged towards the moon light window; once again she heard the booming noise. She swiftly twisted herself around to face the assault course. There was nothing to be seen. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see something slightly moving. She flicked her head around and noticed her zip-wire slowly swaying. She tilted her head out of confusion. A vigorous gust of wind passed.

"Must have been the wind." She explained to herself plainly.

Her mind was constantly playing tricks on her ever since Prague. Whenever she heard an American voice she made herself believe that it was Kurtis'. Eventually she was beginning to see reality and remember that he was dead and would never return. A slow sigh passed through her full lips.

Placing her pistols back down onto the wooden chair, she wrapped a gown around herself. The softness comforted her. She felt so alone trapped in this world. Inside she was screaming. A sound of rattling china moved her focus from the moonlight towards the entrance of the pool.

"Winston?"

"Yes it's me Lara dear, I couldn't sleep so I've made you some coffee, you look freezing, come over here." He commanded

She slowly walked over to him, like a weak child. He passed her a cup of coffee and they both headed toward the library, Lara always seemed to be relaxed by the calming fire.

Winston sipped his tea loudly and Lara sent him an irritated glance.

"What's up Lara?" he asked concerned.

"Just leave it Winston." She replied dismissively.

He sighed and looked out towards the dismal night. Lara continued to stare into the fire. Her eyes were filled with anger. Unexpectedly she slammed her coffee on the table and stormed off towards the corridor. Winston quickly followed. He found Lara sitting on the floor by the grand father clock with her head in her knees. She was silently crying.

"What on earth is the matter Lara?" Winston called as he crouched down next to her.

"Leave me alone!" Lara screamed.

"Lara I have to know what's wrong. This is all very sudden, have I done something to upset you?"

"No…no, it's just…" she shrieked.

"What is it? Lara? Lara?" he tilted her head up with his trembling hands. She closed them remembering her memories of the past few years.

She began to speak.

"It's all just building up inside me, all the painful memories. I want to forget them all, but my head just won't seem to let them go. Werner…"

The mention of his name made the colour in Winston's face drain.

"Lara, you have to forget about him, you cannot blame yourself for his death. Come on I'll take you up to your room, get some sleep. You'll feel better by the morning."

Lara wiped the tears from her cheeks and brought herself to her feet.

" I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. I've never acted like this before. My emotions seem to change very rapidly. I can get to my room from here. I'll see you in the morning." Lara explained. They began to walk their separate ways.

"Winston..." she called.

"Yes Lara?"

"…Thanks." she admitted.

"My pleasure."

A faint smile spread across her face.

The old stairs creaked as she stepped. Even the walls made noises in the old house. It was so full of memories. Some good, some bad. The atmosphere in the house was somewhat suspicious. The smell of dust from the carpet felt homely, she started to become her old self again. Lara Croft against the world. Her positive thoughts quickly became negative. She thought of Kurtis, his manly scent that once she was present with, his soft touch. When at the Louvre they almost touched lips, she could feel his warm breath against her face. She shook her head trying to remove the thought.

"I must be strong and realistic." She said to herself. With her head high she approached her bedroom. She jerked her head towards the door as she heard yet another noise.

"Just what I need at a time like this." She said in a sarcastic tone. Gripping a pistol in her right hand she silently twisted the door handle. Lara took in a deep breath and swung the door open firing her gun in every direction. Her arms lowered. There was nothing in there. She heard a gust of wind and turned to look towards the balcony. The doors were wide open and the silk white curtains where floating in the wind. She rolled her deep brown eyes and slowly approached the balcony. Peering around the corner, she still saw nothing. She squinted. There was something odd here. She had heard noises before when she was in the pool. Maybe it was not just her imagination. Whilst thinking of a reason behind the noises she heard a slight rustle from below. She shot out onto the balcony and her eyes traced the line of hedges beneath. She made out a dark figure hiding. Her eyes had only just adjusted to the darkness. She shot down into the hedges at the intruder. Pissed off that she could not do with this kind of thing at 11 at night.

"Shit!" the intruder shouted.

She heard a voice from below; once again she shot now aiming at the figure scrambling towards the edge of the shrubbery.

"Crap, she's seen me!" the intruder whispered to himself.

Lara took off her gown as it was to bulky and jumped down from the balcony with only her swimming costume on. The cold pierced into her skin. It did not bother her; she had been in worse situations before, why should a bit of cold bother the tomb raider? She flipped backwards as the intruder shot towards her. Just missing the lead she flicked a piece of hair out of her face and followed the tracks the intruder had made on the gravel. She walked slowly and cautiously as she began to come to the corner of the manor. Peering to the left towards the gate she could not see anyone.

A gasp fell from her lips as she was grabbed with force from behind. Cold metal was carefully placed against the base of her slender neck. Her breath began to quicken as a hand reached out and removed her pistol from her hand. The trespasser's head moved towards her ear.

"Miss me?" he whispered.


	3. Reappearance

**Chapter 3 Reappearance**

She reconised the deep, husky American voice. _No, it can't be, don't be stupid Lara he's been dead for ages, stop imagining things. _She gnawed on her lower lip. Her eyes flickered as she thought. He placed his gun in his holster carefully and twisted Lara around to face him. Her jaw dropped and her dark eyes widened. Her eyes could not accept what was in front of her. All kinds of thoughts were running through her mind. Was she dreaming? It all seemed to happen so suddenly. His deep blue eyes searched her face; he laughed slightly at her confusion. _Nice to know I still have this effect on women_. He thought. A smirk spread across his face, he moved her slightly away from him. He did not want to make her feel pressured.

"But… no…this can't be right." She finally spoke while shaking her head in confusion.

"Didn't think you could get rid of me could you? ". She half smiled as her eyelids crossed her eyes. She had never felt so elated yet confused before.

"Lara?" he said softly while gently shaking her shoulders. It appeared that she had fallen into a trance. When she opened her eyes she tilted her head up slightly to face his own. A faint sigh of relief escaped her lips. Without intent she wrapped her arms around his sturdy body. Everything was so unexpected. It felt like only a second ago she was in the pool and now she found her self buried in Kurtis' chest. His powerful arms gripped her tightly almost crushing her. She felt so safe in his hold. He rested his head on hers and closed his eyes.

Winston peered out of his window after hearing the faint sound of guns shots. He noticed the two figures in a tight embrace near the entrance of the manor. He smiled, _so that's why she's been so upset lately, men troubles._ He closed the velvet curtain and returned to his bed.

After a few minuets Lara pulled away from Kurtis. She did not know what had overcome her. Quickly brushing herself down she apologised.

"Sorry, its just, its all a bit sudden." He smiled and looked down at her figure, she was only wearing a swimming costume. He raised an eyebrow.

"Not really appropriate for the night time Croft." He explained by pointing towards her costume.

"Yeah, lets just say I wasn't expecting you." she said blushing.

"Yeah, I might have guessed." He nodded in response, he took off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders.

"Thanks… Kurtis…"

"Yeah." he replied calmly.

" Nothing, don't worry." She backed down figuring that it was not really the time or place to ask questions.

" Okay, looks like I'm all yours tonight, if that is alright with the lady of the house? I've not seen any motels around here and seeing as you've got a bloody great mansion here…"

"Yeah it's fine, lets go inside before I catch pneumonia." She joked. She wandered towards the timber entrance and Kurtis followed. She felt comfortable in his presence.

"Gunna give me a tour of this old place then Lara?" he asked as they entered the mansion.

"Maybe in the morning, I don't know about you but I'm exhausted." She pointed towards the far door at the top of the stairs.

"You can sleep in there tonight."

Kurtis shrugged and agreed.

"Well you could always sleep outside if that suits you better?" she replied in a sarcastic tone.

" I think I'll be fine up there."

"Good I'll see you in the morning and I'll give you that tour I promised you." She smiled and began to ascend the stairs. Kurtis rolled his eyes and smirked, he followed her up the stairs towards the guest bedroom.

Just before he entered the room, he glanced back at Lara. She had also paused before entering. When she noticed his eyes on her, she quickly turned her heal and headed towards her bedroom slightly blushing. He laughed to himself.

"I'm so irresistible."

Both Lara and Kurtis were now silently lying on their beds. None could sleep. Lara refused to agree with her heart that she felt something for him. She was too stubborn. The way she had acted when she found him was very unexpected and unlike her. She was just caught in the moment. At least this was what she was convincing herself to think.

Kurtis questioned himself whether he should go and see her. He neglected the thought. She may not be asleep. This would cause too much embarrassment. He twisted and turned trying to doze off to sleep. Yet his mind was fully awake.

Lara screamed into her feathered pillow. How could she be so stupid? He was some guy she met on a mission and she was just some chick that he liked her bra size. Her long braid lay gently on her back brushing her slender back as she moved. The silk curtains still were swaying. Lara carefully got up and closed the balcony doors. She took in a deep breath of the cold night. It sent a chill down her spine and all the tiny hairs on her back sprung up. After returning to her bed she finally fell into slumber.

However Kurtis was still restless. He wished that he would build up the courage to go and see her. _Don't be so weak. It's only a woman. Coward_. He huffed and gave in to his mind. Placing his boots onto the floor, he began to search for her room.

The mansion was captivating. Each tick of the grandfather clock made him feel even more relaxed. He clasped the cold door handle and began to turn it. The quiet creaks of the door made Kurtis' eyebrows draw together in suspense. He tried to not wake her. He was thinking of excuses that he could use if he had awoken her. He observed the majestic room as he entered. Lara lay peacefully and silently on the bed. Her chest raised as she took each delicate breath. She looked so calm. He did not want to disturb her serene dreams so he backed off into the corridor.

The sound of the door closing awoke Lara. She gently wiped her eyes as they adjusted to the dark night. Not knowing what had awoken her; she took off the safety on her pistols and placed then securely in each hand. _Arrgh I'm too tired for intruders! _She whined. A small fragment of her hair fell in front of her twinkling eyes as she forcefully opened her bedroom door.

She slammed her gun against the intruder's head, he jumped in shock as she did so.

"Oh, Kurtis, it's you, what are you doing?" slightly embarrassed she lowered her gun.

"More like what are you doing Lara? I only wanted to know where the bathroom was, but you were sleeping so I was gunna find it myself." His hand rubbing the back of his neck as he lied.

Lara could see right through him, like she could all men.

"Uh-huh, really? Well it's along to the right from your room, third one down." A smug smile spread across her face as she spoke. Kurtis' heart began to race, he knew she had figured his game. _Not just a pretty face then_ he thought. His face clued to the floor, not daring to return to hers.

"Kurtis, what did you really want me for?"

His electric blue eyes wondered to the floor. He folded his muscular arms.

"Oh nothing." He concluded.

"Well there are a few questions that don't have answers at the moment. I'd like to talk even if you don't. By the looks of you, it doesn't look like you can sleep either. Come on follow me we can talk in the library instead of in my doorway!"

Kurtis half smiled at her. His eye traced her petite figure descending the stairs. Her long plait swaying as she moved. He quickly followed her before she noticed his stare.

The library was mesmerising. The calm light welcomed them into the room. Hundreds of books were stacked all the way around. It was so peaceful.

"Beautiful isn't it, my favourite room."

"Well you certainly have enough to choose from." He raised an eyebrow.

He fell down onto the nearest chair and rested his head on his rough palm.

"So, what do you wanna know?"

"Well for a start how come you're alive? The last I saw of you was when you had to fight our wonderful friend Boaz." She moved her chair closer in curiosity.

"I…I don't remember." He dismissed the conversation.

"Come on, you must remember something." She replied disappointed with his response.

"Okay it goes like this, you will have to bear with me remember I was stabbed though the gut."

He closed his eyes and began to talk. His body now slouched against the back of the armchair.

"I'd just defeated that bitch, then out of her corpse there she was again in a flying form. She wasn't hard to defeat, a few bullets in the head and she was gone. I turned around to catch up with you and the venomous cow stabbed me. I fell to the floor in pain. I must have been unconscious, I remember waking up in an ally in Prague. I must have dragged myself to hospital of something, because the next day I was told I had just come out of operation, I was lucky to be alive. Had a darn great hole in my stomach." He sighed and slowly opened his eyes. "I had a lucky escape."

"Must have been painful, got a big scar?" She tilted her head down to look.

"You could say that." He lifted black his T-shirt. The wound was nearly as big as a hand. Still not fully healed. Lara could not help her eyes wandering away from his wound. Her heart beat quickened; she could feel her hands sweating a little. Kurtis half smiled. He knew that she felt something for him, even if it was just a little bit. There is only a certain amount of time that you can observe a scar. He laid his shirt back down and started to speak.

"So, what happened with Eckhardt and Karel? I'm guessing they're dead?" He brought Lara's eyes away from the burning embers back to his face.

"Yeah. Kurtis I think you ought to know something."

"Go on."

"…It was Karel that killed your father."

The colour drained from his face, he turned it away from her.

"When I was about to kill karel, he tried t gain my trust by turning into your form, he said that he had been helping me all along. He said you were not real." She paused.

"What do you mean?" his face was pale.

"Karel can take the forms of others. He is very manipulative, a scheming malicious bastard! He alters his appearance, voice, jester and even mannerisms. I know this must be hard for you, Eckhardt did not kill Werner either. It was once again the malevolent actions of Karel. He was the one trying to revive the Nephilim. I have killed them both. It was difficult but I managed it. The sleeper is destroyed." She explained in a soft tone.

"It's late we should get some sleep." He did not face her as he left the room. He did not answer to her explanation. His mood had changed, he had returned to her in a somewhat flirty mood, his temper had risen and he did not want to lose it with Lara.

"Kurtis…" she grabbed his forearm and made him turn to face her.

" I know this is shocking news for you but it would be better if we could talk about it. For both of us." He stared into her deep brown eyes. After a few seconds her just turned and began to climb the stairs. Lara followed his step.

At the top of the stairs he turned around to face her. She was closer to him than he expected. He could feel her breath on his chin. She backed off a little.

"Lara, I don't feel up to it. Maybe I'll talk about it another time just not now." He turned away.

"I'm sorry, I'll see you in the morning."

He closed the door to his room after him. She shook her head disappointed by how little she had achieved. She returned to her room.

_Author note: Sorry that this chapter was mainly conversation and not much happened! More will happen in later chapters. Please review good or bad. I not a brilliant writer so sorry if some things do not make much sense. I will try my best to improve my work! Thank you for spending your time reading my story, I will go over the story soon and try and make some improvements. I will update as soon as possible. Once again, please review and I'll marry you! Lol Love –Kiss-me-898_


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